Jarrod Saltalamacchia grateful for time in Boston, happy to be a Marlin

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- For Jarrod Saltalamacchia, it was an easy decision.

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By
Tim Britton
Posted Dec. 9, 2013 @ 4:08 pm

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- For Jarrod Saltalamacchia, it was an easy decision.

Officially introduced as the catcher for the Miami Marlins on Monday, Saltalamacchia said the chance to play close to home and with a team that went hard after him in the offseason was impossible to pass up.

The Red Sox lost out on their erstwhile backstop largely because the Marlins were willing to offer Saltalamacchia a three-year contract, whereas Boston wouldn't budge beyond two. Further, Boston's
reported two-year, $18 million offer to the catcher wasn't a base salary; that was with incentives, according to a source.

Thus, there was a bigger difference than realized between the $21 million contract Saltalamacchia ultimately signed and the one he turned down from the Red Sox.

"I loved my time there [in Boston]. We had talked, we were in conversations up until the last day," Saltalamacchia said. "I think the Marlins came in and really just kind of took over with the way they were treating me, the way they put it out there to me. And then looking at that young pitching staff, looking at the young players, I just don't think that there was any other choice but the one I had to make and that was coming here."

Saltalamacchia said sitting out the final three games of the World Series, when he was benched in favor of David Ross, "was tough, because I wasn't sure if that was the last time I was going to wear the Red Sox jersey."

That, however, doesn't sour Saltalamacchia's view on his time in Boston. The Red Sox rescued him from Texas, where he was languishing in Triple-A and growing more frustrated by the day in 2010.

"I was sitting in Triple-A, so [getting traded to Boston] can't be much more important than that," he said Monday. "I was a frustrated younger player that felt like I deserved to be in the big leagues. It kind of changed my thought process. I was able to meet a lot of people that got me on the right track that I needed to be on and concentrating on what's important, and that's just controlling what you can control."

Saltalamacchia brought up Jason Varitek and former bullpen coach Gary Tuck as prominent mentors during his time in Boston, when he blossomed into a reliable everyday catcher. By this past season, Red Sox pitchers consistently lauded Saltalamacchia's game-calling abilities.

"He never shied away from any work that was needed," manager John Farrell said. "He cares about the guy on the mound. He embodies everything you're looking for in a catcher."

"They gave me the opportunity, brought me over here and took a chance on me," said Saltalamacchia. "I think it paid off for both sides."